8-yr-old rape victim’s health improving, shifted out of ICU

An eight-year-old girl, who was allegedly gang-raped in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, was shifted out of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) today as her health condition improved, an official said.

However, in view of the mental trauma she has undergone, the doctors are not in favour of the police recording her statement in haste.

The girl, who was allegedly raped on June 26 and left severely injured by two men in Mandsaur, located about 200 km from here, is undergoing treatment at the Maharaja Yeshwantrao (MY) Hospital here.

She had suffered grievous injuries to her neck, face, head and private parts.

“After continuous improvement in the girl’s health condition, we have shifted her from the ICU to a private ward. She is eating semi-solid food,” MY Hospital’s superintendent V S Pal told reporters.

He said the girl played with toys in the private ward and chatted with her family members. She also spoke to some relatives over phone.

Meanwhile, the Mandsaur police has sought permission from the hospital authorities to record the girl’s statement in order to file a chargesheet in the case at the earliest.

Asked about it, Pal said, “The child has gone through a lot of trauma. Though her mental condition is constantly improving, in my opinion, it will take some more time for her to be in a position to speak to the police about the incident.”

He added that a medical board would take a decision on allowing the police to record her statement.

Pal, a psychiatrist himself, said the hospital was taking the assistance of psychiatrists to help the girl overcome the trauma of the heinous incident.

The girl was likely to be discharged in about two weeks as she had not yet recovered completely after the surgery, he added.

On June 26, the girl was allegedly lured away by two men while she was waiting for her father outside her school. The two men allegedly raped the girl, slit her throat with a knife and left her to die, the police had said earlier.

The police subsequently arrested the two accused — Irfan alias Bhaiyu (20) and Asif (24) — and booked them under the relevant sections of the IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.